Steve Austin Was Nearly Paired With Surprising Ex-WWE Star
A former WWE superstar who didn’t have a legendary career claims a pairing with “Stone Cold” Steve Austin was planned at one point.
When WWE fans hear the name of “Reigns” they should immediately think about the “Tribal Chief” Roman Reigns. However, there was a Reigns before him who was named Luther Reigns.
The WWE career of Luther Reigns lasted on the main roster for about a year from April 2004 to May 2005 when he was released by the company. Before WWE, Reigns was briefly a part of WCW and wrestled in the indies as well.
What Luther Reigns had going for him was a legitimately tough guy who was about 6’4″ and 280 pounds. That’s why at one point in his run, he was a bodyguard of sorts for Kurt Angle during one of his heel runs.
Was WWE Going To Have “Stone Cold” Steve Austin Team Up With Luther Reigns?
During an appearance on former WWE Superstar Rene Dupree’s “Cafe de Rene” podcast, Luther Reigns revealed that at one point, he was pitched the idea that he would be paired up with “Stone Cold” Steve Austin.
“Yes. Signed (to WWE’s main roster) in early 2003. Yup… I think I was down there (in developmental) for about, yep, nine months to a year. Yep. When the writing team first came down and they said, ‘Matt, we’re gonna make you Stone Cold’s protégé,’ and I’m like, ‘Cool.’ I’m like, ‘Let’s go…’
I was jacked, I was big, I could talk on the f**king mic. I wasn’t a great wrestler but, being as big as I was, you really didn’t have to know that much. Then Stone Cold got in a fight with Vince (McMahon) and he walked out. I don’t know the whole story, but I’m sure you know more about it than I do.”
The timeline in the former Luther Reigns story is a bit off because Steve Austin walked out of WWE around May of 2002 due to creative differences and didn’t return until early 2003. Austin wrestled his last match as a full-timer at WrestleMania 19 in 2003 and it wasn’t a retirement that was planned. It’s possible that the plan that Reigns was talking about was for 2003, but Austin was retired as a wrestler.
As for his future, Steve Austin has left the door open for a WrestleMania 41 appearance although the WWE Hall of Famer admits he hasn’t been in contact with anybody about it.